Gestation has traditionally been viewed as the mother’s domain, with dad doing little more than depositing his half of the genome. Now, a new study in fruit flies pinpoints a protein in sperm that regulates embryos’ earliest cell divisions.

Scientists discover a protein that keeps cellular nuclei from shriveling, a hallmark of old age and the premature-aging disease progeria

March 5, 2015
| By Rachel Tompa / Fred Hutch News Service

Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found a protein that helps shape the nucleus, a special compartment within cells that houses and controls genetic information. When cells are missing that protein, known as Wash, nuclei lose their classic plump shape and become wrinkled and puckered. Nuclei pucker in the natural aging process and in certain diseases including progeria, a rare and fatal genetic disorder that dramatically speeds up aging. Whether Wash plays a role in progeria or aging is still unclear, but these findings are an intriguing hint that it might, said Dr. Susan Parkhurst, a biologist at Fred Hutch.

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